mccullochblog

Bhutan.

I'm off to Bhutan on Thursday. Whenever I've mentioned that I'm going there for 10 days, people ask one of two things: Where is Bhutan? or Why do you want to go there?

The former question is easy to answer: it's North East of India and Nepal and south of Tibet, or China, as some people like to call it.

The latter is slightly more complicated to answer: I've wanted to go to Bhutan ever since I went to Tibet and imagined what it might have been like if China hadn't invaded. More to the point, I wondered what a secluded, isolated, reclusive himalayan Buddhist kingdom might be like if it had been allowed to figure out its own place in the world, without too much interruption from such distractions as television, the Internet, or traffic lights...and that's pretty much what you get in Bhutan.

The capital city, Thimpu (current temperature -13C. Note to self: pack more warm stuff) doesn't have any traffic lights and the Bhutanese first saw television in 1999. 1999! Can you imagine that? Admittedly the Internet also showed up in 1999, but men and woman are still required to wear national dress (that's costume, as opposed to compulsory 'drag' attiture, Poddy) and the number of tourists entering the country are strictly limited and indeed deterred with a hefty daily visitation fee.

Anyway, it all looks fascinating...loads of great temples, monasteries, incredible architecture, the himalayas, history...all the things I like in a good overseas expedition. Oh, and I'm going to Nepal too..three days in Kathmandu, either side of the trip to Bhutan. I'm a big fan of Kathmandu, as you might recall.

Given the Internet has arrived in Bhutan, I'm hopeful of sending you the odd note from there...I'll do my best.

Top Five Canyons of All Time?

In case it passed you by, I've just started a period of six weeks voluntarily 'unemployed'. While I was actually busier in my first few days of worklessness than I had been while working, this long weekend (Thanksgiving in the USA) finally gave Emma and I time to mull over less pressing issues such as: Is Bryce Canyon really better than the Grand Canyon?, or do people just say that to be 'alternative'?

Yes, after a first week off packed with such tasks as going to the dump to get rid of that crappy old carpet (which I used to love...wagon wheel coffee table anyone?) returning explorer costumes (that's another story for later) and looking for a new place to live (commute-related), this weekend Emma and I left it all behind and went to one of my favorite places on earth: the Southwestern states.

To be more specific, we jumped on a plane to Las Vegas and then went to Zion Canyon for two nights, Bryce Canon for one, and then finally Paris, Las Vegas, last night, to provide a bit of city-folk balance to all that cultural/nature stuff.

Anyway, we had a jolly fine time hiking around in sub-zero temperatures, stalking wild turkeys and gaping at the awe of it all, but really words are a bit pointless when it comes to describing that part of the world - hence the new collection of photos.

Anyway, having given it all a lot of thought, here's my answer to the top five canyons question. Please weigh in if you strongly disagree.

1. Zion Canyon, Utah - stunning, crazy-paving-type red, white and orange cliffs that rise up like skyscrapers from the foot of the canyon. Much less enormous than the Grand Canyon, but much easier to take in.

2. Bryce Canyon, Utah - quite small, actually (the main amphitheater is only a couple of miles across) but its bright orange, white and pink hoodoos are just spectactular.

3. Grand Canyon, Arizona - massive, obviously, and very awe-inspiring, but no individual part of it is as memorable as the cliffs, buttes and mesas of the Zion area. If you want sheer scale, of course, you can't beat it.

4. Canyon of the Yellowstone - Where Emma and I got engaged, so obviously a big family favorite, but it's not quite as impressive as the top three all things considered.

5. Colca Canyon, Peru - very hard to see much of the canyon (very steep, very narrow), but the Condors soaring around it are worth the six-hour drive from Arequipa!

Climate Crisis = Not Boring.

Did you see Luca's blog about the CurrentTV climate crisis video contest? It's worth taking a look at the videos entered for the contest, not only because it's important, but because they're a lot less boring than listening to professors and politicians banging on about the world ending.

I mean, we are killing the planet, but at least reminding yourself of the fact (and hopefully doing something to prevent it) doesn't have to be boring, right?

Coming Out of the Closet. (a.k.a. 'Got a new job').

One of two things is generally going on when I'm not blogging. I'm either incredibly busy at work (and too exhausted to raise my hands to the keyboard of an evening) or I'm traveling across the Tibetan plateau with no access to a decent toilet, let alone an Internet cafe.

I must confess that neither of those has been the cause of my absence these past weeks. Instead, I've been avoiding you because I've been busy getting a new job.

What?! Where was the personal phone call? Why didn't you ask my advice?....I know, I know...but I'm sure you'll understand it was a BIG SECRET until now. Even though I've spent every waking moment talking to employers, future employers, wife, family and no - and then suddenly all - co-workers about the new job for two weeks, you know I have a policy of not mixing work and McCulllochblog...so I figured you'd forgive me...eventually.

Anyway, now that I've emerged from the secret-new-job-closet I can tell you - once and only once here - that my new job will be here - and that I leave my current employer on November 16th after ten years. Yup. Ten years. Hard to believe, eh? Longer than the Beatles were together.

After struggling with the decision for an appropriately long time, I did the deed and Emma and I celebrated by going to see Kelly Clarkson in concert last night. We also spent today exploring the possibility of moving here or here to cut down on commuting time (to the new job). Oh, and before I start at the new place, I will be taking time off to go here, here and here with Emma and here on my own...and yes, I'll be blogging about all of that!